Dancing & Drinking
by GoldenEnderHawk
Summary: Set after Ellie and Dina kiss. Ellie thinks that Dina only kissed her to make Jesse jealous... Dina has to prove her wrong.


**Set after Ellie and Dina kiss.**

**Ellie has several thoughts about what just happened. Some good... Some bad...**

**-x-**

Ellie still had the kiss burned into her thoughts - and she suspected that it would last for the rest of the evening... And for the rest of her life.

Dina's arms still remained around Ellie's neck as the music began to die down, turning into something more upbeat, "I'm gonna go get us some drinks," Dina excused herself, stepping back - Ellie secretly missed the contact.

"You know how much I hate the shit they got here," Ellie replied with a grimace, trying her best to keep her composure.

The smile on Dina's face turned into a smirk as she rolled her eyes, "Don't be like that. You get used to it," she leaned up to peck Ellie on the cheek, "Catch you in a bit," she winked, turning away.

If Ellie wasn't already blushing hard enough... Just that light kiss on the cheek was almost enough to make the taller girl spontaneously combust. She stood in the middle of the dance-floor completely dumbfounded. Shaking her head, she gulped hard before making her way to the side of the room.

_She had to leave._

_She felt like the walls were closing in._

_She felt extremely hot._

_Drinks could wait._

The harsh cool night air hit her immediately as Ellie opened the door, a sigh of relief escaped her. She began the trek back to her home she shared with Joel. She could still hear the music through the walls as she walked away from the building. Ellie's mind was still racing, her lips still tingled from the recent contact they had with Dina.

_Dina._

Ellie hated to admit it, but she missed the warmth of the shorter woman's arms around her.

A pang of guilt suddenly hit her hard. She remembered talking to Jesse... Jesse almost definitely saw the kiss. Ellie let out a groan of frustration, kicking over a trash can as she walked - not caring about the mess. She felt bad for Jesse. He still had feelings for Dina. And she was effectively fucking him over.

Another thought crossed her mind... A thought that made her stop in her tracks.

What if... What if Dina was just using her to make Jesse jealous?

Ellie pressed on and continued towards the house. Yes. That definitely must be the reason. A girl like Dina would never go for someone like her. Ellie really didn't know how to feel about all this. She decided then and there that she hated having feelings. They made her weak and hurt all over.

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath as she arrived at the door to the house. Slowly, the door creaked open as she stepped inside. Her eyes opened upon hearing a voice, "Hey, kiddo. Didn't expect you back so soon," Joel spoke from the other room.

"Er- yeah!" Ellie called back as she kicked her shoes off, "You know I'm not really into shit like that..." she made her way into the kitchen as she took off her flannel, tossing it onto a nearby chair. She felt the warmth seep through her thin black sleeves, she smiled upon seeing Joel's brother, "Oh, hey, Tommy."

"Hey, Ellie," he smiled, "Thought I'd keep your old man company whilst you were out partying."

Sighing, Ellie made her way over to the table and took a seat on one of the chairs.

Joel gave her a skeptical look before going over to sit next to her, Tommy remained leaning against the counter.

"What's up, Ellie?" Joel asked, taking a swig of his drink.

She shook her head, waving him off, "It's nothing. I'm fine."

Tommy chuckled, "Bullshit."

"Yeah. Bullshit," Joel agreed, "Come on, kid. I see right through you. We both do."

Ellie groaned before resting her head on the table, feeling a headache starting to rise, "I really don't wanna talk about it. Maybe tomorrow..."

Joel felt a bit tipsy from the drinks he and Tommy had been sharing, so he decided to tease a little, "Is it boy troubles?"

Ellie almost wanted to throw up, she replied in disgust, "Ew, Joel. Gross."

He chuckled before nodding, "Okay, okay. Girl troubles?"

"Yes." she breathed out, "But I really don't want to talk about it!" she looked up from the table.

Tommy decided to join in, "Back down while you still can, Ellie. Women are nothing but trouble."

That made Ellie crack a smile, "Might be for the best," she then stood from her chair and made her way towards the sitting room. She laid down on one of the couches before covering her eyes with her arm, trying to block out the lights coming through the window. Because of the party that was going on, the lights would most likely be on all night - to allow people to find their way home. The comforting heat coming from the fireplace across the room helped Ellie collect her thoughts.

She still couldn't get that stupid kiss out of her mind. The feeling still lingered across her own lips and cheek.

Ellie had been falling hard for Dina for so long that she had lost track of time. She might even dare to say that she was in love with Dina. She only dreamed of kissing her... And now it was a reality - she could hardly believe it. Her arm fell from her face as her fingers brushed her lips.

She cursed, "For fuck sake, Ellie," she muttered to herself as she moved her arm back over her eyes, "She doesn't see you like that..." she told herself, wishing sleep would claim her. Secretly, she wished that she had drank more. Maybe it would help her forget about the events of tonight.

"I'll see you tomorrow on patrol," Tommy voice echoed from the kitchen.

"Yeah, if you aren't busing throwing your guts up in the morning," Joel replied.

Tommy laughed, "You had a lot more to drink than me, old man!" Ellie heard the front door open, Tommy then called, "See ya, Ellie!"

"See ya..." she said with a sigh, not bothering to remove her arm.

The door closed quietly. Footsteps then approached Ellie, "Scoot," he said. Ellie reluctantly moved into a sitting position, allowing Joel to sit by her, "You sure you don't wanna talk about it?" he wondered.

She shook her head. Her arms wrapped around her legs as she brought her knees up to her chest, "I don't know..." she confessed, "I'm just... So confused."

Joel leaned back into the couch, "I hear ya, kiddo. Feelings are fuckin' awful sometimes," he downed the rest of his drink. He placed the bottle on the coffee table before turning his head to look at Ellie, "Mind tellin' me who the lucky girl is?"

"I-I don't really-"

"It's Dina, ain't it?" he offered a genuine smile.

Ellie covered her face with her hands, "Why am I even talking about this with you?!" her voice was muffled.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Ellie's heart froze... She had her suspicions about who it could be.

Joel soon stood from his seat and peaked out the window as he made his way to the door, "Speak of the devil," he muttered.

Ellie quickly stood as Joel came closer to the door, "Please don't open it. I-I don't know what to even say to her."

"You can't hide from your problems, Ellie," he sighed, "I'll head on upstairs and leave you two alone. You seem to really care about this girl and I will not have you fuck this up."

A smile appeared on Ellie's face, "You're so fucking weird."

Another knock.

Joel proceeded to open the door, "Hey there, Dina."

"Hi, Joel. Is Ellie here? She left without saying a word to anyone. Thought she might be blacked out drunk somewhere," Dina laughed.

"Oh, you know, Ellie. Never does well in social situations."

"I'm standing right here!" Ellie exclaimed, annoyed at the_ banter._

Joel stepped back, allowing Dina to step inside and see Ellie, "Hey, Red. Scared me half to death when you left."

"Imma head to bed. Got patrol early in the mornin'," Joel announced making his way over to the stairs, "Feel free to stay the night if you want, Dina."

"Thanks, Joel," she smiled, shutting the door behind her. He nodded before disappearing upstairs, wanting to give the two girls their space.

Ellie gulped as she watched Dina approach, "What er-" Ellie cleared her throat, taking a step back, "What are you doing here, Dina? Shouldn't you be having fun dancing and drinking?" All Ellie wanted to do was pull Dina into a hug and feel her embrace once more.

"I came to see if you were okay," Dina said, grabbing the taller girl's hand with a look of concern on her face - leading them the the couch. As they sat, Dina continued, "And besides... Dancing and drinking isn't fun without you," her focus was set on their joined hands in her lap.

"Pfft..." Ellie scoffed, trying not to pay attention to the warmth of Dina's hand, "Yeah, right. You know I hate doing both of those things. I would just slow you down."

That was kind of a lie. She did hate drinking, that's for sure. And yeah, she hated dancing. But she_ loved_ dancing with Dina. Dina was the only person she would ever consider dancing with.

A flash of disappointment appeared on Dina's face for a moment, "Still... I don't like that you took off without telling me. I was worried. I didn't scare you off, did I?"

"Wh-What?" Ellie shook her head, "No, you didn't. I just... _hate_ social situations," a nervous laugh escaped her.

"Good," Dina looked up at her, "You need to learn to let go a bit more, Red. You can be _so_ boring," she smirked.

Ellie acted offended, "How dare you!" she removed her hand from Dina's, yanking it away from the shorter girl's lap, to place it over her heart, "I'll have you know I'm the life of the party."

"Little Miss 'I don't dance or drink'," Dina laughed, subconsciously leaning into Ellie's side - her head resting on the taller girl's shoulder.

Ellie's heart melted as she tensed. All this physical affection Dina was giving made Ellie's head spin.

Dina then let out a sigh as she decided to wrap her arms around Ellie's waist, the pair leaned further back into the couch. Dina's smiled dropped. Ellie still didn't know what to with her own arms.

Dina closed her eyes before taking a deep breath, "I can tell you don't really want to talk about it, El..." she started, "But... I didn't make you uncomfortable when I kissed you, did I?" Dina didn't want to ruin the friendship that they shared.

"I was... a little shocked," Ellie admitted, relaxing a bit, "But uncomfortable? No, definitely not," she could easily feel the heat rising in her face.

Opening her eyes, she focused on the fire ahead. A smirk then appeared on her face, "So what if I asked you... On a scale of one to ten. How was it?" she laughed.

Gulping, Ellie began, "W-Well... I erm- I-I don't... really know how to answer that," she admitted.

Dina was worried that Ellie didn't like it. That she didn't like _her._ She really cared for the taller girl and she was doing her best to show she did.

Ellie felt the uncomfortable tension seep in, "What I meant to say is..." Ellie paused to take a deep breath, "I did enjoy dancing with you, tonight."

A small smile flashed across Dina's face as she tightened her arm's around Ellie's waist, relishing in the comfort of Ellie's shoulder, "I enjoyed it, too."

Carefully, Ellie put one of her arms around Dina's shoulders, "A-And... I know you only kissed me to make Jesse jealous. But I would rate it-"

Dina cut her off by quickly sitting up, removing her arms from Ellie's waist, "What?" she simply said, confused, "What makes you think that?"

Ellie gulped, "Er- W-Well... Jesse was watching and I just assumed that-"

"Well, you assumed wrong," Dina whispered, moving even closer towards Ellie - her hand came up to the taller girl's cheek, turning her head to face her. The pair sank back into the couch.

Ellie tried her hardest to stop her eyes from flicking down to Dina's lips, but she failed. Dina caught on, her free hand came up to rest on Ellie's waist.

Trying to ignore the softness of Dina's hand caressing her cheek, Ellie whispered back, "If you weren't trying to make Jesse jealous, then... Why did you-?"

It took a second for Ellie to process the fact that Dina's lips were against her own once again, the taller girl's eyes remained open wide in shock. Dina pulled back gently, making sure to keep her face close to Ellie's, "You're such a clueless idiot sometimes, Ellie," Dina smiled before going back in for another kiss.

This time, Ellie wasted no time in responding - kissing back with just as much passion. One of her hands cautiously moved to rest on Dina's leg as she felt the shorter girl's tongue against her own.

Reluctantly, Dina pulled away a few moments later, her eyes focused on Ellie's, "Now how would you rate that?" Dina joked.

"Ten," Ellie said without thinking, "Definitely a ten," she was clearly breathless, the blush across her face was a deep red.

Dina laughed, leaning forward to bury her head into Ellie's neck, "I love you, Ellie," her voice was full of sincerity and confidence.

A mixture of shock and relief washed over Ellie, "You... do?"

"Of course I do," Dina's arms were now secure around Ellie's waist, "None of the boys... or girls... could compare to you."

This time, Ellie didn't resist her temptation to pull Dina into a strong hug, "I... I love you, too, Dina," her eyes closed, holding the girl tight, "I have for a long time."

Dina clutched onto Ellie's shirt before they shuffled to get into a more comfortable position on the couch. They decided that Ellie lying down with Dina on top was the best option, "I can't even begin to understand how you didn't catch on to my flirting," Dina looked into Ellie's eyes with adoration.

Ellie offered a look of complete confusion, "You were flirting?"

"Oh my, god!" Dina exclaimed, "You're so infuriating sometimes!" she sighed before letting her head rest on Ellie's chest.

"Not as infuriating as you..." Ellie muttered.

"I will smack you in the face, Ellie," Dina threatened.

Ellie began to tease, "You wouldn't be able to reach short stuff."

Dina lifted her head and glared at her.

The taller girl bit her lip before quickly leaning in to peck Dina on the lips.

This time, Dina was shocked, "Daring, aren't we?" she asked.

**-x-**

Joel definitely hadn't been eavesdropping.

Definitely not.

Nope.

He was a good man.

He would _never_ do that...

Suddenly a voice echoed throughout the house, "Joel!" Dina called, "I'm takin' your girl out dancing! If she's not back in the next few hours I've killed her because of how fucking annoying she is!"

"I'm not that bad!" Joel heard Ellie reply before the front door opened and then slammed shut shortly after.

Joel chuckled to himself before making his way to his room. He looked out the window at the illuminated streets to see Dina dragging Ellie along towards the dance.

Oh, he was _definitely_ going to tease her about Dina tomorrow.


End file.
